The rise of the Force
by Amraaz
Summary: A powerful voice rises to unite a world devided, a world under attack by a seemingly invinsable foe. The voice is joined by another, equally powerful, born of pain, loss. The voices merge, the only hope for survival of a race on the brink of extinction.
1. The Leaders of Meikei

Hey, read n review please...SS all the way!  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own CCS or any of their characters, they just happened to be perfect for the plot of my story. I hope that I do not offend anyone by making this fic, if any objections should arise PLEASE DON'T SUE ME, I am not worth anything right now so you will be the one to lose out :P  
  
Some things in this chap might not make sense so I will explain, when there is (...) present in front of a para, it means that I am switching from one scene to another. If anything else confuses you, please mail me and I will clarify it for you. -  
  
Chapter 1: The leaders  
  
Magic... an oddity which gives incredible power to those who possess and those who don't possess it crave it with a longing which causes them to destroy all in their path to gain it.  
  
The Meikien world possesses this incredible oddity, this magic, which is craved by those worlds who have heard about it only in legends, those worlds that depend on their technology to progress out of savagery into something perhaps less savage.  
  
The people that the Meikien refer to as the Cretins were incredibly advanced in their technology, this advanced state however had only tempered their savagery to a small extent . The secret to the Meikien magic was the Shahnaz stones. These stones, mined from treacherous mountains gave the Meikien people their magic. The more stones a clan held, the more powerful it was. The more stones held by a clan also increased the greed of those who led those clans. And many battles were fought to obtain the stones of clans which were thought to be weaker.  
  
The power of the Shahnaz stones, however was not the sole source of magic in the Meikien world. Some individuals innately possessed magic of their own. These individuals were the leaders of the nine clans of Meikei. Their heritage could be traced back to the great sorcerer Clow Reed. It was rumored that there was yet another sorcerer whose power was perhaps equal to that of Clow Reed, but this sorcerer's identity and the identity of possible descendants was unknown.  
  
The nine clans of the Meikien world were; the Li clan, the clan of Bresher, Rhedin, Xanthania, Qeher, Ghosha, Han, Funghe and the clan of Sitar.  
  
The direct descendants of Clow Reed are the Li clan; this clan is the most powerful of all the nine clans. It led by a fierce young warrior, feared and respected by all. His campaigns were legendary, his power was undisputed. Li Syaoran.  
  
The Cretins had discovered the Shahnaz stones quite by accident, one of their ships had made a crash landing on a mining site, the workers of the mine, not realizing the gravity of the situation had healed these strangers. Once healed, the Cretins returned to their own world and revealed their experiences to their leaders and aroused a greed in their people which was so evil that it seeks to destroy an entire race to dissipate.  
  
The attacks on the Meikien people started soon after this instance, alien attacks which the Meikien people could ill defend against. The only hope left for this magical race involved a unified force which would combine to defeat this overwhelming threat. And who else, but the leader of the undisputed Li clan could lead this force? Many obstacles lay in front of this stalwart leader's goals, the most pressing was the matter of uniting those clans which are still, stupidly, trying to gather as many Shahnaz stones for their own empowering, hoping that if they are powerful enough, they can withstand the Cretins attacks on their people. On this misguided notion, these clans relentlessly attacked their neighbors with powerful spells.  
  
Li Syaoran had to unite the clans of his people, while fending the attacks of the Cretins. He sent missives to all the nine clans and demanded that the most capable warriors join his army, five clans obeyed (Xanthania, Qeher, Rhedin, Sitar and Ghosha) while three rebelled (Han, Funghe, and Bresher), due to their pride. They thought that if they gathered enough stones, they would be able to defeat the Cretins without the help from the allied clans. In this hope they attacked their neighboring clans with great power, disregarding the fact that such power would wipe the attacked clan off the face of the planet.  
  
Enraged by such stupidity, Li sent orders, commands and when all else failed, he sent threats. Yet these rebel clans refused to cease in their attempts to gain Shahnaz stones. In their desperation to gain the stones, they attacked the Shahnaz rich province of Xanthania. A province built on what was the biggest mine of Shahnaz stones in the Meikien world.  
  
Although the Xanthania province was powerful, it was well known that this province's leader Kinomoto Fujitaka, had, with his elder son Kinomoto Touya, had hastened to join Li's army, leaving their own people practically defenseless. And they could even now be dead on one of the planets many moons on which the battle between the Meikeins and the Cretins was taking place.  
  
The only defense left to Xanthania's people rested on the slim shoulders of their young mistress, Kinomoto Sakura...  
  
....the shield will not be able to hold on much longer...they are coming....where is our mistress? Echoes of her people's whispers were loud enough to reach Kinomoto Sakura if she was not lost in her own anxieties. Touya had sent her a missive, he was very far and Sakura knew it would take up a lot of his power to send her that little message. In anticipation as well as a sense of foreboding she recited the spell that would reveal her brother's writing.  
  
Dear baby sis  
  
Hope that you are holding up well over there. This stupid war.... I am sorry that father and I cannot be there with you... and perhaps... Sakura there is a possibility that we might not be able to meet again.  
  
I am sorry to break this news to you sis but father has sustained deep trauma, he is being looked after now...but I am not sure he will make it. I realize now that you were right to try and prevent us from leaving home, we are all but surrounded on all sides, only one slim hope remains for us to get out of here alive... hang on to that hope Sakura... I will do my best to come back to you.  
  
Meanwhile I need you to look after our people Sakura, I know that this news is devastating but, I need you to be strong for them. Remember what father taught us we are the leaders of these people, they rely on us to keep them safe, it is a privilege that has a great responsibility attached to it. In all instances we need to put their needs in front of our own. I know you thought that there would never be a day when you would have to take over this responsibility Sakura, but circumstances have forced it to be so.  
  
Sakura there is also a chance that the Cretans will try to ransom me for our Shahnaz stones, I need you to promise me that you will never, and I mean NEVER agree to such a trade, those stones are the only hope left for our people's survival, NEVER give them up!  
  
I hope that one day we will meet again Sakura, be strong and look after our people, I trust in you and so does father.  
  
Good luck baby sis  
  
Good bye  
  
Your brother  
  
Touya Kinomoto...  
  
...An anguished cry rose high above the towers of Xanthania's citadel, frightening the birds that were already fidgety because of the attack, they flew off in a synchronized flutter of wings, adding to the deafening noise. And as suddenly it had rose, it was abruptly silenced.  
  
A powerful force hummed through the long winding corridors and a pink aura gushed out simultaneously from the door and windows alike, shattering the once beautiful painted glass, it merged with the transparent silver shield that was currently under heavy bombardment by large fire boulders to form brilliantly effervescent, multihued globe.  
  
The dwellers of the great citadel of Xanthania and the villagers swung their anxious eyes towards the High Tower, and beheld the most beautiful yet terrifying sight...their mistress was floating high above the highest tower, glowing a golden/pink color, the wind around her was turbulent, causing her beautiful auburn hair to whip around her head in an almost violent manner.  
  
Her breathtaking emerald eyes were almost completely white. They watched in amazement as she slowly lifted her hands towards the sky and in the blink of an eye the shield disappeared, the eyes of the commoners widened in terror as the heavy metal fire balls came their way with terrifying speed...the hair at each villager's neck rose in anticipation of a crushing death...  
  
Sakura's white, glowing eyes flickered and she lifted her slim arms once more with such force that only the most trained eye would detect their movement... all the populace crouched low, wanting to delay the inevitable for a few more moments, they closed their eyes, mothers shielding their children with their bodies, they waited for excruciating pain, a burning so intense that only cinders would remain of their flesh...  
  
The rain of fire never made an impact, instead was hurled back to it's trajectory with a tremendous force which made the very air hum with tension.  
  
...Silence greeted those still waiting in terror in the citadel's shadow; an eerie silence which they thought would surely precede a certain, painful death.  
  
The silence was a heavy shroud around them and most couldn't bear the uncertain deafness of it for much longer.  
  
A brave pair of eyes lifted heavenwards and flinched in anticipation of a hellish site...  
  
Instead, the eyes encountered a clear blue, innocent sky which could pose no obvious threat to them!  
  
A triumphant shout was joined by others in the great courtyard as the masses celebrated safety again, few watched as their mistress floated back to her tower and landed on the balcony in a graceful heap. "They will be back" she whispered through cracked, pained lips....  
  
...Meanwhile, a long distance from Xanthania. In a grim silence an army of spectacular numbers watched helplessly as a great shower of glowing red boulders made their way with terrifying speed towards the Citadel of Xanthania. All convinced that in a matter of moments all that would be left of that once magnificent edifice would be ashes.  
  
"Those imbeciles!" roared a young man as he too watched the horrible specter, his tone and obvious violent posture made those around him back away uneasily.  
  
The air around him swirled and then stretched, crackling with incompetent fury. His aura, usually a translucent green haze around him, had become darker, an almost black color, reflecting his inner turmoil.  
  
His furious amber eyes promised a dire retribution for those who had disobeyed his direct order and have possibly destroyed their only hope of winning this impossible war with the Cretins. In their greed to get Xanthania's Shahnaz stones, they attacked it with such a force that perhaps the stones themselves would not survive that great impact!  
  
Garbed in an armor entirely forged of the blackest metal and wielding a giant scimitar which glistened in the dry desert air, Li Syaoran was definitely a sight which would strike fear in the hearts of mortals.  
  
Now with the air around him crackling with energy and his amber eyes glistening with fury, few could even dare to raise their eyes to see him.  
  
He had failed...was too late to save the province of his most loyal followers...it was his fault...if only he had not asked them to leave their people defenseless on his assurance that he will be able to protect them. He let out a furious howl which rang out in the still desert air, making the air around him more turbulent and fierce.  
  
In his own furious thoughts he had failed to notice that the boulders never made an impact; were in fact flying back with tremendous speed, back to where they came from.  
  
"um Syaoran?" whispered his most trusted friend and adviser Hiragizawa Eriol, whose eyes had never left the scene on the horizon of Xanthania's Citadel.  
  
"yes?" he curtly replied  
  
"perhaps you should look again at Xanthania, before you decide to murder the Bresher leader"  
  
Amber eyes swung back towards Xanthania and hope burst in his chest as Syaoran beheld the sight of boulders flying away from Xanthania. Disbelief soon mixed with hope and he wondered if it was trick, Kinomoto Fujitaka could alone defend against such an attack, and with great difficulty, how could this miracle have happened?  
  
Deciding to waste no more time, Syaoran ordered his army to advance to Xanthania; he realized that even though by some miracle the citadel of Xanthania was still standing, Bresher was only one clan which was intent on Xanthania's Shahnaz stones. The attacks from Han and Funghe would soon follow.  
  
A great cloud of sand rose as the Li's army, traveling on swift animals, ghodas (tall, four legged creatures with incredible strength and speed), and magical contraptions known as gadis (gliders made of metals fueled by Shahnaz stones, capable of flying at great speeds on the planet as well as in space)...  
  
...oblivious to the great army approaching them, the people of Xanthania rejoiced in their superficial safety. Few had noticed that their mistress was not rejoicing with them and had in fact been weekend so much by her attempt to defend them that she now lay in a heap on the highest tower's balcony.  
  
Those who did notice her falling raced the winding staircases to reach her, to determine that she still lived. Fear for their mistress gave them speed which they thought they were incapable of.  
  
"Sakura!!!", Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend and lady in waiting cried as she rushed towards her crumpled figure. She held a mirror in front of Sakura's face and sighed with relief when moisture on it indicated that her beloved friend was still breathing.  
  
"What are you looking at?" she shouted furiously at those who had gathered on the balcony and were staring openmouthed at their mistress "Come here! Carry her to her chambers!" she ordered. "You!" she pointed at a maid "go heat some water and bring me my herbs"  
  
Tomoyo sat in vigil at Sakura's bedside all that night, desperately mixing and grinding herbs, making all the potions that she had been taught by her mother and futilely trying to make her unconscious friend drink them. Sakura was hardly breathing and that terrified Tomoyo.  
  
"Sakura", she whispered in a strangled whisper while a tear threatened to escape her expressive gray eyes. "Please wake up". She turned away from Sakura's pale face as if she couldn't bear to look at her friend in this state any longer. Her eyes focused on a parchment, which lay crumbled on Sakura's table. She rose and picked it up, her eyes widening with every sentence she read.  
  
"No!" she cried, horrified "this cant be!"  
  
Tomoyo's eyes swung back to Sakura in abject pity and desperation, she was their only hope. "She has to wake up! You hear me Sakura?, wake up!".  
  
Sakura's profile gave no indication that she heard Tomoyo's cries "Damn you Sakura! Will you give up so easily? Will you let our people down? Will you let me down? Will you let your father and brother down? Wake up!" Her hands like steel clamps on Sakura's shoulders, Tomoyo shook her friend with a violent desperation "Wake up!"  
  
With a startled gasp, Sakura's green orbs opened and widened "Tomoyo?" she whispered. Why was her friend shaking her so?  
  
As soon as she heard her, Tomoyo abruptly let go of Sakura and started crying, great heaving sobs which shook her entire body, "what should we do now?" she asked the bewildered girl lying on the bed.  
  
Confused for a moment Sakura wondered what was wrong with Tomoyo "H..Has something happened Tomoyo?" she whispered and then in a flash, she remembered all that had happened before she fainted "oh no! Father! Touya!...Tomoyo they are gone! T...T...Touya said that they were in...in trouble and th...they might not b...be able to come b...b...back".  
  
"Sakura!" Tomoyo commanded ceasing her own sobs, "Stop that!" "We don't know for sure that Kinomoto san and your brother are d...dead". "Remember that they have left you in charge of our people, you must be strong! I know that you will be able to take this on, I have faith in you!"  
  
The fire burning in her friend's eyes riveted Sakura, "She really believes in me!" she thought to herself and a fierce tide of strength flowed back in her body at her friend's faith in her. "I can do this, I will hold on to hope that my family is safe and I will defend my people with all that I am" she vowed in a voice which Tomoyo had never heard her friend use, centuries of leader's blood and strength bespoke that voice. And hope rose in her chest at the magnificent site of Sakura, emerald eyes flashing and her pink aura enveloping her, testifying to her vow and revealing the incredible strength and perseverance which flowed through her veins.  
  
"Everything will be alright" she whispered to herself...  
  
Did you like it? Please review, this is my first fic and I need to know if I am on the right tract. As soon as your reviews come in, I shall start on my next chapter...until then my fingers are crossed :P 


	2. Two Brewing Storms

Hi everyone, I am back! Sorry for the delay, I was very busy these past few months and had no time to continue. Thanx sooooooooooo much to those who reviewed my last chapter, you made my day!

There are some things in this chapter that I need to explain.

Ghoda: an animal which is a cross between a horse and a camel. It is extremely fast and can cross desserts very easily.

Gadi: a metal craft which is powered by the energy giving Shahnaz stones. The people of Meikei use Gadis to fly in their own world as well as fly to outer space. Outer space travel requires a lot more Shahnaz stone energy than traveling in Meikei.

The people can also use magic to send messages to each other. It is sort of like a magical internet! It requires magic to send it; it can only be read by the person the message was meant for.

For example, if I wanted to send a message to someone, I would write it on a piece of parchment, then say a spell to send it to that particular person. The person who receives it then says a particular spell required to open the parchment.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CCS OR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS SO LEAVE ME ALONE OK?

Chapter 2: Two brewing storms.

Little did Sakura or Tomoyo know of the great army approaching them. The fact that Li Syaoran was leading them would cause great animosity to rise in Sakura's heart.

He was the man responsible for her father and brother going off to battle, fighting for _him_, when he stayed all secure and protected by his guards and his great army. He was the one responsible for her father and brother leaving her in charge of their people.

It was his fault that they might be... no she will not let herself think of the possibility that they might be lost to her forever. She will cling on to the hope that her brother told her about in his letter to her, she had always trusted Touya, and will do so now as well, until she had concrete proof of their demise, she will not believe it!

"Please let me up Tomoyo, I will need to go see to our defenses, Bresher's leader Shesk was not the only one who had sent me threats to surrender our Shahnaz stoned to them".

But Shesk was the only leader threatening her whom she had thought of as one of her closest friends, his betrayal had stung like the sharpest thorn in her heart. She had scarcely believed that he would threaten her at all when, to her greater surprise, he had actually backed up his threat with offensive action, he had actually attacked her!...

...She closed her eyes and was taken back in time to when she was seven years old and had escaped her governess in a childish sulk because the governess would not let her play with the servant's children, she was so _lonely _and her childish mind could not grasp the concept of nobility and restraint when it came to those who were meant to be lower than her.

She could not comprehend why, when one was born of noble blood, they just didn't consider others of lower blood as their equals. Puzzling since she could not see any difference in her blood and the blood of the servant's children. Why, when compared both blood from her wounds and the wounds of the other children seemed just as red!

She had wandered a distance from her castle on that day and then, tiring, had thought to take a little rest among the tall reeds that grew around the many marshes dotted throughout the desert.

She sat down, and came face to snout with the largest bullfrog. It's huge googly eyes seemed to question her presence in his domain. Sakura watched it in silent contemplation for a while.

"Hmm" she thought, her governess had just read her a story of a princess long ago who had kissed a bullfrog and he had turned into a handsome prince. Contemplation brought a twinkling to her emerald eyes and her rosebud lips curled in a cute smile.

"The prince will be my friend!" she exclaimed, already the wheels in her mind were rolling out of control. She would keep the bullfrog turned prince in her room and would hide him from her _evil_ governess whose main mission in life seemed to be making Sakura's life as miserable as possible.

She would bring him food, the yummiest food afcourse and bribe him into being her friend forever!

"What do you say Mr. Bullfrog?" she enquired (it was the polite thing to do) the bullfrog simply stared at her with its large eyes, a most comical look on it's grotesque features which seemed to say "is this girl gone nuts?"

Sakura took an exception to that look and said to it in her most indignant voice "well you don't have to look at me like that! it's not like I wont give you good food, I mean, look what you have here, eating flies and insects" she wrinkled her nose in disgust "I will give you chocolate!" she exclaimed, to her, _nobody_ could resist chocolate!

"I don't think frogs eat chocolate" a voice drawled from behind her. Sakura whirled around to be faced with a boy, who seemed to be a bit older than her.

His blue eyes seemed to be regarding her with amusement. He looked like he was going to bust out laughing at the comical scene he had just witnessed.

Her emerald eyes widened at the sight, and the first thought in her mind was to grab the frog and run.

Only the frog did not want to come with her, it seemed to have made up it's mind, it was not leaving it's home behind to befriend a lonely girl. No matter how hard Sakura held it, it just slipped from her fingers and disappeared within the marshes.

The rejection of the frog, the admonishments from her governess and the fright given to her by the strange boy pushed Sakura's limits over the edge and huge droplet of tears formed and fell from her large, expressive eyes.

"Hey" the boy muttered awkwardly, "don't start crying!". Sakura faced him and raised her swimming emerald eyes to him "I am not crying!" she exclaimed with feeling as she furiously rubbed her cheeks with the heels of her palms. "Kinomotos don't cry!" she said, repeating her older brother's phrase, the one he used when she got hurt and was on the verge of tears.

"Oh yeah!" the offensive boy drawled, "It looks like there is one Kinomoto here who is just about to start a waterfall just because she lost a stupid frog"

"He was my friend" Sakura whispered, confused, why is this boy being so mean?

The boy stared at her incredulously "the frog was your _friend_?" he asked, not quite believing that this girl, daughter of the leader of Xanthania had thought to make a lowly bullfrog her friend and was now bemoaning her 'friend's" desertion.

"Yes" she said softly "he was going to turn into a prince and then we would be friends forever!"

"A prince!", the boy let out a shout of laughter. This girl was priceless! "Frogs cant become princes!"

"Oh yes they can!" she said, emerald eyes flashing, how dared this boy laugh at her? "I will prove it!"

She determinedly marched to the spot where the frog/ prince had escaped her and was poking through the marshes trying to find it 'stupid boy, thinks he knows everything!" she mumbles to herself "I will show him!"

"Aha" she exclaimed, triumphantly holding the hind legs of her prey, "found him" she crowed looking towards her tormentor.

The boy's eyebrows lifted and he regarded her twinkling emerald eyes with admiration for her resolve and amusement at her silly idea "go on then" he drawled, "I am getting bored here watching you dangle that poor creature"

Hostility flashed in the once triumphant emerald eyes "I will!" Sakura exclaimed "watch me!" she said as she brought the frog's slimy snout closer to her lips. The closer the snout came the more unsure she became, what seemed like the best idea before just became a bit repulsive to her as she saw the snout of her "beloved frog/prince".

The boy watched a host of expressions flit across her expressive face, he was amazed that it was even possible to be so transparent that everyone can tell exactly what you were thinking. He knew the exact moment when all her triumph had turned into disgust. He smiled, a highly amused smile "giving up, princess?" he challenged.

Sakura's emerald eyes swung back to him as she regarded his challenge "a Kinomoto never gives up!" she declared, miming another one of Touya's favorite phrases.

Gulping down her revulsion, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and brought the offensive creature to her pink lips, she gingerly touched her lips to the frog's snout and then eagerly opened her eyes to witness the amazing transformation that was about to take place, a transformation which would make the bull frog into the handsome prince who would become her lifelong friend instantly.

Needless to say, nothing happened. No prince appeared. The frog was, still dangling from her tiny grasp, very much a frog.

"Disappointed princess?" drawled the odious boy "no frog can turn into a prince"

Presented by the evidence that his statement was true, Sakura could not say anything in defense of her idea.

However she was far from defeat. "I think that the frog wont turn into a prince because it knows that you don't believe in it" she explained slowly as if the boy was a toddler with no sense "you see, if you were to believe in it, it would surely have turned into a prince" she told him solemnly.

Her 'reasonable' explanation sent the boy into gales of laughter "you are priceless, you know that princess?" he managed to strangle out while laughing "utterly priceless!"

Sakura stared at him, not sure whether to be angry at his laughter or to laugh along with him because of the incredible situation they were in. Her lips curled and she too started to giggle, thinking that it was surely better to laugh than rail at him angrily.

Her giggle soon turned into full fledged, musical laughter and the boy was captivated. "My name is Shesk" he said "I am the son of Bresher's leader Lord Verdnand, I am no prince, but I assure you I would make a better friend than your frog, what do you say princess?"

"Yo...You want to be my friend?" Sakura asked hesitantly of him. How could anyone who was so assured of himself and so mature looking want to be her's, Sakura Kinomoto's friend?

He grinned at her, showing a line of white, straight teeth "if you will have me" he exclaimed, blue eyes twinkling at her.

"Really???" she asked, emerald eyes huge with hope, hoping with all her heart that he was not joking with her.

"Really" he assured her gently, sensing instinctively that his answer would be greatly important to her.

"My name is Sakura" she said shyly, extending her little hand to him, "I come from Xanthania."

"I figured" he said "not many families have the name of Kinomoto". He smiled.

Sakura thought that he had the most beautiful smile in the world (next to her father afcourse) and he made her feel like a treasure with his gentle eyes. Happiness burst in her tiny body and her eyes shined brilliantly as she gazed at her new 'friend'.

They spent the entire afternoon and well into the evening playing with each other, their laughter ringing out and filling the marshes with its music.

He came to the edge of the wall which marked the Kinomoto land with her and bid her goodbye. He left after promising to see her again soon.

And many meetings ensued that incredibly enjoyable day. They would laugh at each other's stories. They would comfort each other when they were hurt. To Sakura, days spent with Shesk were an outlet for frustration and boredom commencing from tediously boring etiquette lessons.

Ten year old Shesk and seven year old Sakura had forged a friendship that she thought would last forever. Even more so when she thought that over the years they had developed feelings which were more than what friends felt for each other.

Obviously she was mistaken. Shesk had changed a lot from the boy who she shared her most secret wishes and dreams with. He had become more cold, distant and arrogant as the years progressed. The fact that he was his father's sole heir had given him a pride that made him look down on many people. Sakura had remained his friend because he felt, since she was the ruler of Xanthania's daughter, she was ok to hang out with.

Over time, Sakura thought more and more that her friendship to Shesk was turning into love, the more romantic stories she heard and read, the more convinced she became. Shesk was _exactly_ like the princes she read about, who came and rescued damsels in distress and turned them into their princesses and they lived happily ever after.

When Sakura turned fourteen, she thought that she should tell Shesk what she felt about him. She was sure he felt the same about her. He was just waiting for her to say it first, she was sure of that.

One clear day, while sitting and talking in their favorite spot in the marshes, Sakura gathered up her courage and turned to Shesk. Looking at him with huge adoring eyes, she told him "Shesk, um...can I tell you something?"

"What?" he asked

"IthinkIaminlovewithyou!" she confessed, without taking a breath. And just as breathlessly she waited for the seventeen year old boy sitting next to her to reply.

What Sakura had felt for Shesk was merely a bothersome crush, he had explained to her with utter cruelty when she had revealed her budding feelings for him.

"You are too young to even know what _love_ is" he had declared, "I cant believe that you of all people would believe in such absolute drivel!, and I will not stand here any longer listening to your childish prattle!"

That was the last time Sakura had met him in their secret place in the marshes. After effectively breaking her heart and destroying her dreams, he marched off in the direction of his land and didn't even look back to see the stricken girl. He had not even thought to escort her back to her own land. Her safety apparently was no concern of his anymore.

Just like that, he had terminated their friendship. He held her heart in his hands and had squashed it as if it was nothing. He had made her his friend, he had become her confident, he was there when she needed comfort. And then, just like he had become her friend, he had become a stranger again. A cold stranger, a frightening stranger, someone she could no longer trust.

With tears in her wounded jade eyes, Sakura watched the boy she thought she loved with all her heart walk away from her. She thought to run after him, but years of being a noble had infiltrated her blood with a stubborn pride which would not allow her to run after him and beg him to forgive her for her grievous mistake. Her mistake of loving him, of idolizing him, of worshiping the ground he walked on.

Her heart breaking into a million little pieces, she turned around and walked aimlessly on legs which felt like straws. The day no longer felt beautiful, the sun failed to warm her cold, numb body, 'How could she have misjudged him so much?', 'how could he be so cruel?'...

...Sakura snapped out of her musings about the past and her foolish infatuation with Shesk. She had understood that fateful day that she could trust no one other than her family and her own people.

A fact made more secure when Shesk's threat came for her to hand over her people's Shahnaz stones to Bresher. His attack on her people had now erased all the tender feelings she might have once had for the enigmatic, blue eyed boy who teased her about her fantasies of turning a bull frog into a handsome prince who would be her friend.

He had become a man, and men, Sakura had discovered, cared nothing for other people's opinions and other people's feelings. They did exactly what they felt like doing and damn those who stand in their way.

They, like Shesk would crush a young girl's heart to dissuade her affections. Or like her father and brother would leave their people, their primary responsibility to the wind and go off on a heroic attempt to save their world! Sakura had pleaded them to stay, to leave the fighting to the allied clans. They were needed by their people for protection.

But did they even heed to her words in the slightest? NO! "Sakura" her brother had said, bestowing an indulgent smile on her as if her 'woman's mind' will not grasp the complex thoughts of men. "How would our people be safe from harm if we don't all combine forces and fight against the Cretins in a unified manner?"

"We are still constantly under attack from enemy clans, it is all well enough to go and fight the Cretins, but who will defend our people from attacks from clans who want our stones?" Sakura had exclaimed in frustration

"Li Syaoran afcourse" her father replied as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why exactly would the great Li Syaoran abandon his mission against the Cretins to come and save Xanthania?" Sakura had asked with words dripping with sarcasm.

"You will do well to remember who you are talking to daughter!" Fujitaka had exclaimed, enraged that his daughter, though beloved, still a woman, would dare raise her voice to him.

"Sakura" Touya hastily cut in, hoping to avoid an ugly family shouting match "you can defend our people as well, you have magic. Why I believe that your magic is almost equal to mine!"

"What is this about?" asked Fujitaka who was not aware that his son had been giving Sakura magic lessons since she was three "how can she have magic, let alone control it?"

Touya was disconcerted; he realized too late that his father had no knowledge of his secret magic lessons. And in his attempt to sooth his father and sister, he had dug himself into a larger mess.

"Um" he murmured hesitantly, "father, when Sakura was little, I sensed a great magic in her, as I am sure you felt as well. I thought it would be wise to teach her to control that magic which might help her defend herself if such a need should arise."

"She is a woman!" Fujitaka exclaimed, "how could you have taught her sorcery?!" he was amazed that his son, whom he previously thought of as an intelligent and capable leader that their people deserved have made such a misjudged decision and did so while keeping him, Fujitaka, completely in the dark!

"She has the same blood flowing through her veins as us" Touya exclaimed, to defend his actions "She too had a right to learn to use her magic for the good of her people and herself!"

"So you took it upon yourself, without my permission or knowledge to teach her sorcery and to enforce this 'right' that she has??" Fujitaka had roared, furious with his children for what he thought was an unforgivable breach in propriety.

"Father, listen to reason!" Touya exclaimed, exasperated with his parent "Sakura has great power within her, if I had not taught her the proper way of using it, it would have laid dormant within her and would have been a complete and utter waste! Don't you know your daughter well enough to gleam that she is not an ordinary girl, that she had the presence of mind, the courage, the stamina which surpasses many men?! You yourself had told me once that you wished that Sakura was a boy so that you could teach her to be a warrior and that she could have been a great sorcerer?"

"But she isn't a boy is she?!" her father shouted at Touya, too stubborn and set in his ways to see that his son was right "I forbid her to use her magic from this day forward"

Sakura gasped "you can't say that!" she exclaimed "why cant you accept the fact that I know sorcery and will be able to defend our people much better than that Li Syaoran, who is too busy with his own problems to worry about ours?"

"Because you are my daughter!, because I want to keep you safe from harm, because I want you to be innocent, the girl who used to look up to me, her father, for protection from harm" he shouted and then lowered his voice, gentled it in hope that she would listen to him "because I don't want you to be hurt" he said almost in a whisper, his fight drained from him.

"Father" Sakura cried as she ran to his arms "you cant try to keep me safe forever! I have grown up, will you deny me the right to fight for my people? Will you deny me the right that I have to lead our people?" she said, desperate to make him understand her feelings.

"You are a woman, women are like fragile flowers, and they need to be protected from harm at all costs. If you try to lead, you will be destroyed!"

"If I am destroyed leading my people and protecting them, then so be it!" Sakura exclaimed, green fire burning in her bright emerald eyes.

Her father had looked at her with enraged eyes and then, tight lipped had turned and left her without another word, convinced in his stubbornness that he was in the right.

"Don't worry" Touya had told her gently as tears at her father's unwillingness to see her as a capable leader began swimming in her large eyes "He will come around, take care baby sis and pray for our safe voyage!" he had grinned at her, the boyish smile which she adored, and crushed her in his arms for an almost painful bear hug "I will miss you squirt" then he too, like their father had turned and left her standing there, looking at him imploringly, with eyes that threatened to bust into tears.

Sakura had watched from her window as her father and brother boarded the metal gadis, vehicles which would convey them to a moon of Meikei where furious battles with the Cretins were happening, along with many of their best and most trusted warriors.

Her heart came to her throat and try as she might to swallow her emotions; it stayed lodged most painfully in her throat as she watched helplessly as the two people she loved most in the world go on a mission which did not guarantee their safe return.

Her had touched her painted glass window and she traced their beloved features in her mind, trying to memorize every nuance so that when she closed her eyes she would be able to see them as if they were standing in front of her.

Her father looked towards her window and her heart leapt, perhaps he hadn't meant those cruel words which he had wounded her with earlier. A wistful expression altered his features for a split second and then it was replaced by a grim determinacy that confirmed to his daughter, standing in her tower, that he was too set in his ways to change. That he would always regard her as a fragile little thing, to be treasured and loved, but to be never allowed the freedom which came with real responsibility. The responsibility which was rightfully hers. The responsibility of leading their people in the absence of her male relatives. Of defending their people in their time of need.

The painted window that Sakura was standing in front of reflected her features, features which were twisted in a mask of agonizing grief, as her father and brother took off. Their gadis hovering for a moment on it's large launching pad, raising a cloud of dust as it powered up on the magic of the Shahnaz stones to launch into space at the blink of an eye.

"No!" Sakura said in a strangled whisper "father!". She crumpled as if her bones had all lost their ability to support her, her burden of sorrow was so great. Why could he not believe her ability? Why did he have to be so stubborn?...

... Sakura gave herself a firm shake, as if to tell herself to stop living in the past. But she couldn't help regretting heavily that her last words to her father were defiant and angry.

She _will_ prove him wrong she vowed. So that when he came back he will look at her with the same pride that he looked at Touya with. 'When he comes back' Sakura though determinedly, 'He _will_ come back!', her father Kinomoto Fujitaka was too strong, too _stubborn_ to die at the hands of the filthy Cretins. Of that Sakura was convinced about with all her heart.

And with that uplifting thought in her mind, she went out to greet her people, to warn them of other incoming threats and to make them ready for any eventuality.

As soon as she stepped out on her balcony, looking fresh, strong and determined, a great shout of joy rang out from the assembly below, their mistress was alright!

Overwhelmed by her people's obvious affection for her, Sakura's voice trembled on her first words "P..People of Xanthania" she said in her most carrying voice.

Her people stood silently, every eye riveted in the direction of Sakura's tower where their mistress stood, the most beautiful sight, in her gown of azure gauze, her glossy auburn hair glowed like a halo around her beautiful face. Her emerald eyes sparkled with an inner fire at the confidence and trust that her people had in her.

"We have prevailed against one of our worst attackers!" she announced. Her clear voice carried over the silent crowd like a magical blanket. And the crowd erupted in deafening cheers that positively shook the very ground they stood on.

"Please!" Sakura commanded and silence once again fell around her "let me finish, although the immediate threat on us is gone, there are surely others to follow, and working together we will be able to defend ourselves again. I cannot do this on my own; I would need the help from every one of you here!"

Pride filled in the hearts of the commoners standing below her balcony 'our mistress needs US' they thought, they had never been addressed by the nobles as equals before. In speaking to them as if they were her friends, Sakura had bound them to her better than any piece of land or money could have done.

Their love for their mistress multiplied and they resolved to fight for her to their last breath! Just like she would do for them! She had their complete loyalty and trust, she had their love.

"I would need the mine workers to see that the mine is undamaged" she ordered "if any damage had been done to the Shahnaz stones, we would need to remedy it as soon as possible" she explained.

"Next I would need the best ghoda riders to scout out and look for any people that are still not inside the walls of the province. Please bring them in as soon as possible"

"As our first attack was magical, it is possible that our next attackers will use magic or physical forces to invade Xanthania. We need to make sure that bowmen are posted around Xanthania's walls. In case of an attack using fire, we need to have barrels of water ready to beat it"

"please make sure that all children and elderly are inside the walls of the citadel, away from harm as soon as possible, we must all work together to protect those who depend on us!"

As soon as Sakura ended her orders, the crowd scuffled as fast as they could to obey her. They were all anxious to help out in any way they could, each one feeling as if they had the most important job to handle.

While Sakura was making the announcements and giving orders, Tomoyo stood behind her, her eyes shining with pride at the strength in Sakura's eyes 'Oh if only her father could see her like this' she thought ' there would be no doubt left in his mind that his daughter could lead her people as competently as his son"

She thought back to when Sakura was a little toddler. Her only aim in life was to follow Touya's footsteps and act as a tiny general, who knew that one day, that childish play would have to turn into reality.

'Our little general' Tomoyo thought and her lips curled upwards with joy and pride at her best friend's actions...

... while the province of Xanthania was readying itself for it's next attack, it's citizens unaware of the immanent arrival of Li Syaoran and his army.

A swirl of dust surrounding Syaoran as he flew forward, seated on his ghoda, Joni. The animal's legs were gracefully long and slender, allowing for the magnificent speed needed to cross the wide dessert fast. It's beautiful brown eyes had long lashes, preventing dust from getting in them, it's shiny black skin glistened with sweat as it carried his master to his destination.

Man and beast blended so perfectly, black armor and black skin, that it was hard to see where Syaoran ended and Jonei began. They moved together, synchronized in each action, so gracefully, so deadly to their enemies who rarely ever even saw them coming towards them.

One of his most trusted friends, Jonei had been his steed since he was a child. Syaoran trusted his ghoda more than he trusted most people around him.

He could still remember when he had received Jonei as his third birthday gift. His father had proudly presented his ghoda's offspring to his own son and Jonei and Syaoran had met for the first time.

A lot had changed since those carefree days, when Syaoran was a child, he had no cares in the world. He would ride on Jonei for hours; it was almost as if they could understand each other so well that each could read the other's mind.

Those were the days when Syaoran had depended on his father to protect their family and lead their clan.

The days when he depended on Lord Li Haan to take care of his mother and sisters.

Those days had come to an abrupt end when Li Haan had died in a tragic accident when their driver had lost control of their Gadi and it had crashed in a harsh rocky cliff. He died with his two youngest daughters Jun Qui and Wern Xing.

Li Syaoran had become the leader that day.

Immediately after losing his beloved father and two sisters whom he adored in that accident, the heavy mantle of responsibility had been placed on the shoulders of an eight year old boy.

He was never given the chance to mourn his lost family. He had never been given the chance to properly say goodbye to them.

He had locked his sorrow and pain inside his heart along with his childhood and had learnt at a very young age to become a man.

He became a cold, stubborn, ruthless man, who was a great leader, a great warrior. But what made him a human, a mortal, was perhaps gone forever.

He bowed to no one and expected obedience from everyone around him. He worked harder than he would ever expect from others who worked for him. He forgot pain, he forgot sorrow. In the process he had also forgotten how it felt like to laugh, to cry.

The shell that was around his heart had hardened over the years. The more he saw of his world, the more battles he fought to protect what was his, the harder he became, until the only thing that drove him was his responsibility to lead his family and his people.

He was just twenty two years old now, but those who looked at him would assess him as being much more mature than that. When most young men of his age were thinking about their girlfriends and their parties, Li Syaoran was leading armies in battle against the most heinous threat to their people ever, the Cretins.

The only people he ever let to see any emotions at all were few. They included Hiiragizawa Eriol, his best friend and companion. Eriol constantly tried to tease him; he tried to bring to surface the boy that Syaoran once was.

Every time he failed to bring a smile to Syaoran's hard mouth, he despaired, thinking that there might be nothing anybody can do to save the eight year old boy who was trapped in this great warrior's body.

Meiling Rae was another person whom Syaoran ever let see any emotion, even if it was annoyance over her infatuation with him which had began when both of them were children and hadn't left her even now.

She had made Syaoran promise his hand to her when they were children, he had not realized that his vow, made on a day when he would have said anything to get her off his back, would haunt him so long after.

He had vowed his hand to her in marriage when he was very young, but Syaoran took all of his promises very seriously, doesn't matter where, when or how they were made, he always kept them. Because of this attitude of his, he was engaged to Meiling Rae, his cousin. And as promised, he intended to marry her as soon as he could secure safety for his people.

His mother and three sisters despaired at the thought that he might actually marry Meiling one day. It was not was if they hated her, they just thought that she was not the best match for him. They knew that he needed someone who would teach him how to laugh, who would be as strong as he was so that he won't always have his way. They feared that if he married Meiling, he would become more distant than he already was.

These issues were far from Syaoran's mind as he made his way towards Xanthania. He barely noticed those around him, so consumed he was on getting to Xanthania and securing the province of his most staunch allies.

He barely noticed that his men were tiring with the backbreaking pace he had set for them to follow. Sweat literally flowed rivers down their faces and their bodies. The bright sun burning overhead made their ride that much more tormenting.

When he couldn't take it anymore, Eriol shouted to Syaoran to stop and let him and the rest of the men rest for a while.

"we are not all as strong as you Syaoran" Eriol said ruefully, a smile tugging at his mouth, I can barely sit on my Ghoda any more and some men look like they might, at any moment fall of their rides!"

Syaoran pulled at his reigns abruptly and swerved around to have a look at his men. And found out that Eriol was right. The sight that greeted him could have been quite funny if he was not in such a hurry.

There, in front of him were great warriors, men with immense strength and courage. They made what was the greatest army that Meikei had ever seen.

There was something wrong with the picture though, the 'great warriors' were all drooping off their rides. Some grimacing from the pain in their stiff limbs, and some were literally falling off their saddles and onto the desert floor. They got up as fast as they could (which wasn't fast at all!) and then tried really hard to get back into their saddles, clutching their hips like old women.

They were exhausted from the five day straight ride that they took taking them from the Li clan lands to the route for Xanthania. The journey which usually takes about twelve days to cover, Syaoran wanted covered in six day or less if possible.

Even though the warriors were seasoned for battle, they could not endure for much longer the neck breaking speed that Syaoran had set for them.

Sighing impatiently, Syaoran ordered that camp should be made for the night. The sun was already lowering in the horizon and he had no choice but to let his tired army rest, if they did not there performance in case of a battle happening would be compromised and he could not let that happen.

He hoped with all his heart that the rebel clans would not make any further attacks on Xanthania until he reached there. The safety of the Xanthanians was his responsibility, laid on in by Kinomoto Fujitaka. Li Syaoran never rested until all of his responsibilities were completed to his satisfaction.

The army tents were constructed post haste, and the gong for the army supper was sounded.

Hot soup and hard bread was the army fare for the night. The warriors ate their scanty food with gusto. Although the soup wasn't the gourmet type, it was hot and quite satisfying for the exhausted warriors.

The thought of food was the last thing on Syaoran's mind as he went through his plans and battle strategies, ensuring every detail was perfect and undefeatable. A frown would mark his brow from time to time when he saw some inconsistency and his swift mind would solve the problem in seconds.

Lifting the flap of Syaoran's tent, Eriol entered, carrying with him a bowl of steaming soup and some crusty bread.

"I thought you might like to have some of this deliciously indulgent fare, oh mighty leader" he joked.

"Go away Hiiragizawa" muttered Syaoran "I will eat when I am hungry"

"I am not leaving here until you eat this, what would your mother say if I just let her only son starve?"

"She would say that you were a wise man to leave me in PEACE!" his best friend roared, his face a mask of rage and his amber eyes darkening to a furious mahogany. Eriol jumped back at the vehemence of those words, his eyes widening in realization of the all consuming stress that the great warrior was under.

"Syaoran" he began reasonably, "You cant do anything for the Xanthanians if you put yourself in this state, I know that you feel like they are your responsibility, but for once, please, think about your own welfare"

"I am responsible for the situation that they find themselves in right now, there are hundreds of people in that citadel right now Eriol, what do you want me to do, gorge myself with food where they wait in dread for their lives?"

"For God's sake Syaoran, nobody is asking you to 'gorge' yourself in food, if you don't eat anything or get a little rest, you are going to collapse or do something that you might regret. No matter what you believe is your responsibility Syaoran, you are just a human being, sooner or later the burden will become too heavy for even you to handle!" "The Kinomotos knew exactly what the risks were and they got involved for the good of this world! Are you going to slander their memory by beating yourself for being a great leader?"

"You don't understand dammit!" Syaoran exclaimed "The Kinomotos had responsibilities which they left behind; trusting me to guard what is precious to them. And what did I do? I almost let a tragedy occur right before my very eyes"

"Focus on the key word here Syaoran, ALMOST, the tragedy DID NOT HAPPEN!"

"Yes it did not happen; by some miracle the people of Xanthania have been given an extension to their lives. How though? Who was powerful enough to deflect those boulders? What awaits us at the gates of the Xanthanian citadel?"

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So what do you think? Please review and tell me where I should improve? Thank you again to SilverSaphire dreamer and Wolf Jade for reviewing, it meant a great deal that you guys would review my work....sniff...I think I am getting overly emotional again. And oh by the way, guess who are gonna be meeting in the next chapter?


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